Golden String

"Hugo…"

"Hugo…"

Hugo's senses suddenly woke up when he heard someone calling his name from far away.

"Who are you? And why am I stuck in darkness?!" He shouted out loud.

He tried opening his eyes to see where he was, but he couldn't do it. It was as if they were stuck together.

"Open your heart, Hugo. And you will find your answer."

A voice answered back. It was soft and like music to his ears. And he knows that the tone came from a woman.

Hugo was hesitant to open his eyes. He didn't even know where he was right now.

'Am I dead for the second time?' he asked himself. The last memory that he remembered was when Julius pulled the trigger and shot him.

He lost consciousness before he could even see where the bullet went into his body.

'I hope it's not in my pp.' Horror filled his eyes as he thought about it.

When he dared to open his eyes, a bright and dazzling light greeted his face.

"Don't tell me we will pull out the 'going back into the time' card once again!" he sighed deeply.

He roamed around his eyes and saw that he was inside a garden. And no, it wasn't just an ordinary garden.

It was a garden filled with magical creatures and plants that weren't familiar to his eyes.

"A garden?" His forehead creased. He looked at his body and saw that he was still wearing the black hoodie from earlier.

'I cannot stay in this place forever.'

Hugo tried to think of multiple ways about how to find a way out. But then, how can he possibly look for one when the garden that he was in was floating in the sky?

A glint of hope rises in his body. It was the fact that the sky was very familiar to his eyes.

"Then that means…"

"Yes."

It was a woman's voice that stunned Hugo in his place. He immediately turned around and saw Thalia, who was sitting on one of the golden-colored benches in the middle.

Thalia's looks haven't changed other than the color of her clothes. She was now wearing a black dress with a slit in the middle, showing her flat waist.

"How are you, Hugo?" She questioned. Her voice screamed elegance with the way she utter the words.

Hugo ran towards Thalia. His lips were parted out of shock.

"Am I already dead?" He couldn't help but directly ask because the last time that he saw her, he was yeeted out of the world.

Laughing out loud, Thalian shook her head. She wiped the tears from her eyes when she found the moment too funny.

"I'm not the goddess of death, Hugo. Why would you ask that?"

Hugo's forehead creased. "Then why are you here?" He stared at her with confusion. "And why am I here?"

Thalia's face became more serious. Gone her friendly face earlier, it was now replaced by a stoic expression.

"You are here because this is the only way I can talk to you, Hugo. When you are on the verge of death." She blurted out.

She looked into Hugo's eyes straight and told the man to let her finish first before he could say anything.

"I am here to say that I am regretful for what I have done. You are in this situation because of me." Thalia started off. She opened up her palms until a golden light suddenly showed up in the middle of it.

"I have made a grave mistake of placing you in a different world. And because of it, you had to suffer its consequences." She stood up from her seat and raised her palms up high until a golden screen appeared in the air.

Hugo's hands trembled. Tears started to form in his eyes. "N-No!" His knees weakened. He fell to the ground, looking miserable as he watched how his mother and sister mourned his death.

"Are they okay now?" His voice quivered. He saw how heartbroken his mother was as she held his lifeless body.

Thalia swayed her hands in the air. The screen instantly disappeared and went back to her hands.

"I cannot tell you that." She tilted her head and walked toward Hugo.

"I just want to know how are they doing..." Hugo breathed out.

"I am not allowed to dwell in the lives of the mortals now." Thalia paused. "You are special now, Hugo. You have powers that mere humans do not have. You have a great destiny ahead of you. But I want you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

Thalia smiled. She placed her palms on top of Hugo's head and smiled.

"Thou who possesses my golden words will be guided." Her eyes became gold for seconds before they came back to normal.

She took a piece of Hugo's hair and placed it in a glass bottle. Thalia slightly wounded the top of her fingers until a drop of blood mixed in with the hair.

Hugo was amazed by what had happened. He saw how his hair became a golden string inside the glass.

"Keep this well, Hugo."

He nodded and accepted the bottle wholeheartedly. "What is this?"

"This is my golden string. Open this glass when you're in need of my help. But remember, you can only use this one time." Thalia reminded Hugo.

"I understand." Hugo nodded as he took a glance at the glass bottle in his palms.

The bottle was small. If his measurement was right, then its height was about 2 inches only.

"You need to go back now. I'm sure your family misses you." Thalia smiled.

"What do you— AHHH!"

Thalia burst into laughter as she saw how Hugo's body got sucked by the ground.

She sat on the bench and leaned her back towards it. Raising her arms midair, she swayed them lightly until her location suddenly changed.

Thalia took a deep sigh as she felt the coldness of her golden throne. It was not long after when she heard someone knocking on the door.

"You may come in."

"My queen, the gods and goddess have gathered with your command."

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Author's Note- It seems like Thalia has another persona. What do you think is it?

I will publish another chapter after this one to celebrate our 300 collections! Even though we didn't hit it the other day, I'm still grateful for all of you who has been supporting this book.